March 2009

March 2009

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
1 Bake pancakes Create blog entries for old photos and slides Maigret in Finland	2 Partly cloudy, 50 degrees Walk 2.8 miles at Cedar River with Vickie FWS - BAS Alloc and User table pages	3 Prepare for trip to Santa Monica DVD 24	4 Park at Thrifty and fly to Los Angeles on Alaska Airlines Rent car from Budget and check in to Loew's Santa Monica Beach Hotel Angel City beer in the bar Dinner in hotel Blog	5 Walk the beach south Drive to the Getty Center Dinner at Jiraffe Blog	6 Walk the beach north Drive to the Getty Villa Dinner at The Lobster Blog	7 Walk out on Santa Monica Pier and then to the south Check out of the hotel and drive to Kenneth Hahn Recreational Area Return home in first class Blog DVD 24
8 Mike Lowry 70th birthday A few snow showers Shop at Safeway Work on blog entries for Santa Monica Enter National Trust sites for Bath trip into Google Earth Inspector Montalbano	9 33 degrees, light snow, about 2 inches on the ground Heavy snow showers throughout the day FWS - answer question from Melanie Mail Fidelity forms Receive FYI check DVD 24	10 Partly cloudy, 24 degrees Walk Cedar River 2.8 miles with Vickie Shop at Safeway FWS - DDEF question from Melanie	11 Clear, 23 degrees Visit the Asian Art Museum Blog DVD Il Trovatore American Idol	12 Clear, 24 degrees FWS - BAS needs a region 0 Walk Cedar River 2.8 miles with Vickie Mushroom risotto	13 Clear, 31 degrees Pick up Mary and meet Gail at Red Town trail head Lunch at XXX in Issaquah Blog	14 Buy printer paper at Staples Shop at QFC Deposit buy.com return at the UPS store Create blog entry for yesterday's hike Turkey meatloaf DVD 24
15 Snow, 33 degrees Clearing, windy Bake a cake Dinner at Mary's in honor of Mike's 70th and Gail's 60th Diane and Tyler but Scott down with a cold SueEllen here for an intern interview	16 Rain and snow showers Bill Packard installed an electrical outlet Dinner at Mary's where Mary and Sue made a winter soup Watch 24 at Mary's	17 A liitle snow on the ground, 34 degrees Make a banana coffee cake FWS - proceed to add region 0 Walk Cedar River 2.8 miles with Vickie We stop to visit Mary and Tyler at the Oakes DVD 24	18 Shop at Safeway Bake a pizza DVD Faust silent film	19 Cloudy, 43 degrees Walk Cedar River 2.8 miles with Vickie in a light rain Poirot	20 Shop at QFC Reinstall Windows on Mary's computer Prepare a roast for tomorrow Salmon with couscous DVD 24	21 FWS - work on Bas10 Roast beef with potatoes and carrots Finish 24 Season 1
22 Partly cloudy, 39 degrees Hike at Lake Hills Park with Mary, Mike, Scott, Tyler, Gail Blog MHZ Wallander	23 Partly cloudy, 34 degrees Walk Cedar River 2.8 miles with Vickie Shop at Safeway House 24	24 Vickie to Cousins party for Gail's 60th in Enumclaw Netflix The Merchant of Venice	25	26 Walk Cedar River 2.8 miles with Vickie Shop at Safeway Oil change at JiffyLube Netflix Indiscreet with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman	27 Hike with Mary and Mike from the Bellevue Botanic Garden to Kelsey Creek Park on the Lake to Lake trail Blog Netflix Diner	28 An icy rain Shop at Safeway Record Met Opera broadcast of Das Rheingold Make a pizza MHZ The Octopus
29 Park at Seattle Center Hike up Queen Anne Hill steps Seattle Shakespeare Company - The Merchant of Venice Beer at TS McHugh's Dinner at Racha Noodles MHZ - Maigret	30 FWS - fix bug in ViewPending House 24	31 Walk Cedar River 2.8 miles with Vickie after lunch DVD - The Age of Consent - Helen Mirren, James Mason

Seattle Shakespeare “The Merchant of Venice”

Today we parked at the Seattle Center an hour before the play and hike up Queen Anne Hill. Although it was in the 40’s, climbing the hill in the sun made us quite warm.

We enjoyed the play as the actors spoke their lines very clearly and was a traditional staging although in modern dress.

After the play we had a beer at TS McHugh’s and the dinner at Racha Noodles.

View Larger Map

Lake to Lake Trail – Kelsey Creek Park

Mary wrote:

Today Mike, Jim, Vickie, and I continued to explore sections of the Bellevue Lake to Lake Trail and Greenway.  We started out at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens following the windy trail through the woods eventually reaching Kelsey Creek Park.   We somehow missed the connection to the trail as we explored the farm area where goats and a cow were roaming.  After circling around a couple times we found the main Lake to Lake trail which took us up a steep hill with numerous steps.  We talked about returning again to follow the path further and hoped Tyler would be able to join us at that time as he would especially enjoy the farm animals.   Back at the Botanical Gardens Visitors Center we picked up a complete map of the connecting trails in Bellevue which will guide us the next time out.    The hike was 4 miles long and took about 2 hours.  It was a fun day!

Google Maps

Cousin's Party for Gail's 60th

Mary wrote:
Hello Erwin Girls,

I was just returned home in Ruthie's van from the fabulous Erwin Girls' party honoring Gail's 60th birthday at Krain Corner restaurant in Enumclaw. Ruthie drove Gail, Vickie, and me to the event arriving exactly at the appointed time of noon. Sandi was unable to join us due to a bad cold and sore throat. Jeannie was out of town but made a call to Gail and Bea sent Gail a gift. Aunt Ruth had the table ready with Happy Birthday napkins, a beautiful multi-floral table plant, and an ice cream cake to be served after lunch. She also brought a dozen golf hats for each of us to match our outfits and wear for pictures.

We had just finished lunch when a big surprise occurred, Sandi and JoDee walked in and over to our table. We all knew it would be very hard for Sandi to miss a party and she did not. JoDee had driven the convalescent Sandi all the way. Gail opened her gifts, we had the delicious dessert, and pictures were taken, one of which is attached.

It was a great day!

Love, Mary
Mary's Video

Hike at Lake Hills Park

Mary wrote:
Today we had a beautiful hike starting at the Lake Hills Park in Bellevue. Mike, Jim, Vickie, and Gail met Scott, Tyler, Mary and Lily there in separate cars, after initially waiting for each other in different locations. (Mary's mistake). Scott was trying out a sturdy child back carrier for the first time and it worked very well. We followed the sidewalk from the Park down to the entrance to Weowna Park next to Lake Sammamish. As we wound around the picturesque trails we viewed beautiful waterfalls and pools and walked across a rustic bridge over the recently engineered Phantom Creek. We passed a deep ravine where we posed for pictures against the lovely background of trees. We hiked for 2.7 miles. Tyler was happy the whole way in his comfortable carrier and we all had a great day!

Map

Video (watch in HD)

Mary’s Dinner for Mike and Gail

Mary prepared an excellent chicken casserole and fruit salad for a dinner honoring Mike’s 70th birthday and Gail’s 60th birthday. I baked a cake.

Diane and Tyler were in attendance, but Scott was down with a cold and stayed home.

Sue flew in from Arcata for an summer internship interview.

It was a lively group and a lot of fun!

YouTube Video (watch in HD)

Cougar Mt – Mary, Gail, Vickie, Jim

Today we had an invigorating and delightful hike.  We started out from the Red Town Trailhead on Cougar Mt. meeting Gail there at 10 am.  Jim and Vickie picked up Mary.  It was a chilly morning with the temperature in the mid 30's and snow in spots around the trailhead.  Our hike was composed of a circular route around the mid section of the park.  There was snow on the trails on the narrower less-traversed paths and then again when we reached the higher elevations.  It was beautiful.  Throughout the hike we needed at times to stop our lively conversation to just look and appreciate the forested view.  Our hike took 3 hours and we covered 4.5 miles.  After the excursion we all headed into a popular eating place in Issaquah, the XXX Root Beer Drive-In.  It was an entertaining eatery patterned after the 1950's - 1960's hamburger joints.  We enjoyed our delicious although probably not extremely nutritious meal served with a background of good old rock and roll music.  It was a great day!

Seattle Asian Art Museum

This morning we visited the Asian Art Museum on a clear, crisp day and toured the special exhibit, Garden and Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur.

Afterward we walked around the reservoir and returned home through Bellevue.

Maharaja Bakhat Singh Rejoices

Santa Monica Day 4

 

This morning we first walked out to the end of Santa Monica Pier and then walked for a few miles along the beach.

After breakfast in the hotel, we packed up and drove to Kenneth Hahn Recreational Area where we walked around the lake:

Finally, we returned the rental car and spent a few hours in the terminal. A welcome surprise was an upgrade to first class on the Alaska Airlines flight.

Santa Monica Day 3 – The Getty Villa

After another good walk along the beach path, this time to the north, we drove a few miles north along the coast road to the Getty Villa.

After lunch in the café, we followed the audio guide tour of the collection highlights and then walked through the gardens.

Dinner was at The Lobster overlooking Santa Monica Pier. The waiter was even less competent than last night’s, but the food and view made our dinner an enjoyable occasion.

Santa Monica Day 2 - The Getty Center

This morning, as forecast, was clear with a temperature of 48 degrees. We crossed the street to the beach and walked for an hour down to Venice and back [Map]. There were lots of walkers, runners and bikers.

View Larger Map

We drove through the neighborhoods to the Getty Center that occupies 750 acres in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains. After lunch we went through the special exhibits and selected portions of the permanent collection.

Jim enjoyed every minute, but after 3 1/2 hours he was, let us say, satiated and prevailed upon a reluctant Vickie to return to the hotel.

For dinner we returned to Jiraffe, a restaurant we had enjoyed during our stay in Santa Monica in the year 2000.

Santa Monica Day 1

Today we flew to Los Angeles, rented a car and drove up the freeway to Santa Monica where we checked into Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel.

There was a heavy shower in progress when we arrived, but the forecast for Thursday and Friday is sunny.

After getting settled, we had our draft “Angel City” beers in the bar and then a good seafood dinner in the hotel restaurant.